5Dimes opens ‘Ya Boi’ Anders as a heavy favorite vs. Machida

Eryk ‘Ya Boi’ Anders will put his unbeaten record on the line against former LHW champ Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 125 headliner in Belem, Brazil.

Published on Tuesday, 1/30/18, at 1:55 a.m. Eastern.Updated on Tuesday, 1/30/18, at 5:35 p.m. Eastern.

The oddsmakers are clearly impressed with Eryk Anders, who will make his third career Octagon appearance as a massive road favorite Saturday night. The former Alabama football player will face former light heavyweight champ Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida in the UFC Fight Night 125 headliner.

On Monday night, 5Dimes opened ‘Ya Boi’ Anders as a -300 favorite (risk $300 to win $100) over Machida, the +220 underdog (risk $100 to win $220). The total was 2.5 rounds (‘under’ -175, ‘over’ +135).

By late Monday afternoon, Anders was -270 at most spots.

This 12-fight card will go down in Belem, Brazil. The first two bouts will be exclusively on UFC Fight Pass, but the next 10 scraps will be on Fox Sports 1.

Anders knocked out Rafael Natal and sent the Brazilian into retirement in his UFC debut. Then in his second fight, Anders won a unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26 & 29-28) over Markus Perez in blowout fashion.

The Birmingham product is 10-0 overall and this isn’t his first five-round fight. Anders won the Legacy Fighting Alliance’s middleweight title by five-round UD over Brendan Allen this past June.

The 39-year-old Machida has been finished in three straight losses, including his first-round KO loss to Derek Brunson his last time out. ‘The Dragon’ returned from his 18-month suspension and lost to Brunson on Oct. 28.